October 15, 2014
The Honorable Patrick Leahy The Honorable Chuck Grassley Chairman Ranking Member Committee on the Judiciary Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate United States Senate 224 Dirksen Senate Office Building 224 Dirksen Senate Building Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Jim Sensenbrenner The Honorable Bobby Scott Chairman, House Judiciary Ranking Member Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, House Judiciary Subcommittee Homeland Security, and Investigations on Crime Terrorism, Homeland US House of Representatives Security and Investigations 2138 Rayburn House Office Building US House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Rayburn House Building Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairmen Leahy and Sensenbrenner and Ranking Members Grassley and Scott:
We, the undersigned attorneys general, write to express our support for
the Amy and Vicky Child Pornography Victim Restitution Improvement Act of 2014 (S. 2301/H.R. 4981). As attorneys general of 44 states and territories, we respectfully request that you bring the bill to a vote.
On April 23, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Paroline v. United States that victims of child pornography should receive restitution, but defendants should be liable only for the consequences of their actions, not the conduct of others. Unfortunately, this decision was counter to the legal opinions of the attorneys general of 35 states and territories, expressed in an
amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to allow full restitution to victims of child pornography.
Despite the common refrain, viewing child pornography is not a victimless crime. The marketing, trading and possession of child pornography perpetuate a market that leads to the harm of increasing numbers of children. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice reported that U.S. Attorneys in 2006 handled 82.8 percent more child pornography cases than in 1994. This 2030 M Street, NW increase is largely attributed to child pornography images traded online1. Eighth Floor Washington, DC 20036 Victims of child pornography are constantly reminded of the abuse of their Phone: (202) 326-6000 past, and there is no way to erase the photographs from the Internet or prevent http://www.naag.org/ them from being shared by others. In the Paroline decision, the majority agreed that continued trade of child pornography negatively impacts those
1 http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/psc/docs/natstrategyreport.pdf who have been victimized: “The cause of the victim’s general losses is the trade in her images. And Paroline is a part of that cause, for he is one of those who viewed her images.”i
The Supreme Court decision would force victims to pursue a continuous stream of defendants, recovering very little in each case. The emotional and monetary costs, as well as time required to seek restitution from multiple defendants, disincentivizes victims from seeking the resources they need for therapy, medical care, lost wages and other needed services. However, the decision helps protect defendants from having to pay substantial costs to those they have harmed.
The Amy and Vicky Act provides victims with meaningful restitution from the multiple defendants who produce, distribute or possess images of child pornography, including those who have not been identified. The law also provides for joint and several liability so that multiple defendants may sue each other to spread out restitution costs for the same victim.
The undersigned attorneys general respectfully request the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Judiciary Subcommittee to pass the Amy and Vicky Act. Providing timely and meaningful restitution will ensure that the growing number of victims can begin to rebuild their lives by fully recovering the financial losses caused by child pornography.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Greg Zoeller Robert W. Ferguson Indiana Attorney General Washington Attorney General
Luther Strange Michael Geraghty Alabama Attorney General Alaska Attorney General
Tom Horne Dustin McDaniel Arizona Attorney General Arkansas Attorney General
Kamala Harris John W. Suthers California Attorney General Colorado Attorney General
Joseph R. “Beau” Biden III Pamela Jo Bondi Delaware Attorney General Florida Attorney General
Samuel S. Olens Lenny Rapadas Georgia Attorney General Guam Attorney General
David Louie Lawrence Wasden Hawaii Attorney General Idaho Attorney General
Lisa Madigan Tom Miller Illinois Attorney General Iowa Attorney General
Derek Schmidt Jack Conway Kansas Attorney General Kentucky Attorney General
James “Buddy” Caldwell Janet Mills Louisiana Attorney General Maine Attorney General
Douglas F. Gansler Martha Coakley Maryland Attorney General Massachusetts Attorney General
Bill Schuette Lori Swanson Michigan Attorney General Minnesota Attorney General
Jim Hood Chris Koster Mississippi Attorney General Missouri Attorney General
Tim Fox Jon Bruning Montana Attorney General Nebraska Attorney General
Joseph Foster John Hoffman New Hampshire Attorney General New Jersey Attorney General
Gary King Roy Cooper New Mexico Attorney General North Carolina Attorney General
Wayne Stenehjem Scott Pruitt North Dakota Attorney General Oklahoma Attorney General
Ellen F. Rosenblum Peter Kilmartin Oregon Attorney General Rhode Island Attorney General
Alan Wilson Marty Jackley South Carolina Attorney General South Dakota Attorney General
Greg Abbott Sean Reyes Texas Attorney General Utah Attorney General
William H. Sorrell Mark Herring Vermont Attorney General Virginia Attorney General
Patrick Morrisey J.B. Van Hollen West Virginia Attorney General Wisconsin Attorney General